Dan Phiffer
LightNews LightNews
banner
phiffer.org
Dan Phiffer
@phiffer.org
1.5K followers 490 following 82 posts
Web developer at @propublica.org. Sometimes (rarely) mixed up with the Dan Pfeiffer who has a podcast. Lives in Troy, NY. He/him.

More active on Mastodon: https://social.coop/@dphiffer
Posts Replies Media Videos
phiffer.org
Feeling good today.
Strava run results screenshot entitled “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”
November 5, 2025 at 12:24 PM
phiffer.org
Rosie is obsessed with stuff on the ground.
Rosie on her hands and knees in the entrance threshold of our apartment. Rosie crouched looking at gravel in a parking lot on a sunny day. Rosie bent over looking down at the sidewalk. Rosie sitting on the laundromat floor surrounded by quarters.
June 22, 2025 at 6:35 PM
phiffer.org
“This one might be my best one yet.” —me, every time I roast a marshmallow.
My hand holding a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
May 3, 2025 at 4:53 PM
phiffer.org
The tour was very good—the upshot is basically that Harriett Tubman was a total bad-ass and direct action gets the goods. Very impressed with 19th c. Abolitionists.

Tomorrow will mark 165 years since Charles Nalle was rescued in Troy, NY.
Photo of the beginning of the tour, a man is standing on some steps and speaking into a megaphone. A plaque reads: Here was begun April 27, 1860 the rescue of Charles Nalle an escaped slave who had been arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act. Many people gathered on a sidewalk in Troy NY, the sun is out. People gathered at the edge of the Hudson river, a man speaks into a megaphone.
April 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
phiffer.org
Bonus tip: if you’re leaking an image with faces in it, Signal’s camera has a convenient feature to blur them.
Screenshot of the Signal camera with the “adjustments” button highlighted. Screenshot of Signal’s adjustments tools, the blurring option is highlighted. Screenshot of Signal’s Blur faces feature. Photo of my social media post, my profile pic has a gray square covering my face and is highlighted.
April 3, 2025 at 1:33 PM
phiffer.org
A photo diptych by my 15 month old, Rosie.
View looking up at the ceiling in a dark room. A hand stitched quilt is visible on one wall. A view looking upward in a dark room. An open doorway, ceiling light, and smoke detector are visible in the top part of the frame.
March 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
phiffer.org
“That’s a promise.”
github.com/mozilla/bedr...
Side-by-side screenshots of Mozilla's FAQ shown in Internet Archive’s wayback machine. In the newer version they’ve removed a section: “Does Firefox sell your personal data? Nope. Never have, never will. And we protect you from many of the advertisers who do. Firefox products are designed to protect your privacy. That's a promise.”
February 28, 2025 at 2:53 PM
phiffer.org
The Gulf of [Bee Movie script]
Google Maps screenshot of the Gulf of Mexico place page. Except instead of "Gulf of Mexico" or "Gulf of America" it's just the entire script of Bee Movie.
February 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
phiffer.org
I love this live interpretation audio feature that May First added to their Jitsi video conferencing. e.g., if you have English and Spanish speakers and a live translator, a slider lets each person change who they hear, depending on what language they understand. It works well!
gitlab.com/mfmt/jsi/
Screenshot of a Jitsi video call with a slider that changes between "Interpretation" and "Live" audio.
February 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
phiffer.org
Dang they caught my cyber attack!

But seriously, having overzealous automated moderation is just a reality of running a giant social media operation. But this is also exactly *why* I’m leaving.
We removed your post Why this happened: The post may try to gather sensitive information from others. (Screenshot of my post) “What does leaving Meta look like? I wrote some practical steps. https://phiffer.org/starting-to-leave- meta/ You shared this on your profile This goes against our Community Standards on cybersecurity. Cybersecurity Community Standards We don't allow people to try to gather sensitive information from others. Examples of things we don't allow: Trying to get access to someone's accounts or data, with or without permission Encouraging someone to give away their password or username. Using phishing tactics to get someone's login info Your freedom of expression We want you to share freely with others. We only remove things or restrict people to keep the community respectful and safe.
January 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
phiffer.org
New profile pic.
Photo of Dan Phiffer, a white guy in his mid-forties. He's looking into the camera and smiling slightly.
January 13, 2025 at 3:05 AM
phiffer.org
There's also a PDF cheat sheet you can print out and distribute locally, if you are so inclined.
themarkup.org/prepmyphone
Prepare your phone for protests Consider not bringing your phone at all Think about your own risks and how your phone’s contents might endanger those who you’re communicating with. Use messaging apps that can’t be intercepted Signal and Whatsapp are encrypted services Turn off Location Tracking Turn on airplane mode or turn off location history/services Use a passcode, not fingerprint or face recognition The longer your passcode the better. Passcodes have more legal protection than biometrics. Turn off or obscure notifications If your phone is seized, notifications can reveal info about anyone getting in touch with you. Before You Share Take screenshots of any photos and post those instead to strip out identifying metadata. Cover up identifying information for people and locations Physicalize Your Phonebook Phones can run out of battery, get lost, broken, or taken away. Write down a lawyer or emergency contact on your arm in Sharpie
May 4, 2024 at 6:33 PM
phiffer.org
I was glad to see @rusty.todayintabs.com make the zombo.com joke, it was all I could think of when I read this.
Tweet screenshot from Linda Yaccarino: “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.” “You can do anything on Zombo com,” she concluded, before projectile vomiting and then falling into deep conversation with a nearby ficus...
July 25, 2023 at 2:11 AM